  
 
The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of people meet online to cooperatively play a game of interactive fiction. Below is a transcript of Dual Transform, written by Andrew Plotkin as "Nigel Smith". Dual Transform was originally released as part of Casual Gameplay Design Competition 7, where it took third place. You can learn more about the game, including how to download it, by visiting the ifWiki.WARNING! Below you will find a transcript of people playing this game, and it goes without saying that the transcript is full of spoilers. So, if you've never played this game, and think you might like to at some point, I do not recommend reading any further. Instead, you might want to return to the interactive fiction page. |
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| Jacqueline says (to Floyd), "load dualtransform" | ||||
Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Time for a fresh start.
Floyd |
Floyd | You've been slogging towards the goal -- true metasemanticity -- for
Floyd | months. Code-logic sparkles in your dreams and mutters in your ears.
Floyd | You've made great strides of progress, thrown them away, rewritten,
Floyd | rearranged, refactored -- but the contract deadline is crawling down
Floyd | your throat. No escaping that. You've got to pull this project
Floyd | together, and soon.
Floyd |
Floyd | So forget all of the environment modelling, the texture cores, the
Floyd | interface splicing. You're going to build on basic physical forces.
Floyd | Like heat, light, maybe mass... Make it feel real, in the user's gut.
Floyd |
Floyd | Dual Transform
Floyd | A Metasemantic Construction by Andrew Plotkin ("Nigel Smith")
Floyd | Release 5 / Serial number 100225 / Inform 7 build 5Z71 (I6/v6.31 lib
Floyd | 6/12N)
Floyd | (Type "about" for credits and game information.)
Floyd |
Floyd | Workspace
Floyd | Nothing surrounds you. The virtual space is unbounded and absolutely
Floyd | blank. Just the opposite of what you're aiming at, you think wryly.
Floyd |
Floyd | With a mental flick, you call up the archetype of a force. Pressure,
Floyd | you decide. Mathematically simple, but instinctual. The archetype
Floyd | forms before you: a simple equation hanging in the workspace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
| ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "take equation" | ||||
Floyd | You cup your hand around the equation and compile. It shrinks Floyd | obligingly into a small icon, which you take. Floyd | Floyd | This is just what you were hoping for -- a simple principle, from Floyd | which an entire immersive world can grow. Now to drop it in the Floyd | workspace and see what you get. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "about" | ||||
Floyd | Dual Transform is copyright 2010 by Andrew Plotkin Floyd | <erkyrath@eblong.com>. It may be distributed for free, but not sold or Floyd | included in any for-profit collection without written permission from Floyd | the author. For more of my games, see [LINK] Floyd | Floyd | The game was written for the Seventh Casual Gameplay Design Floyd | Competition at JayIsGames.com; it wound up in a three-way tie for Floyd | second place. Floyd | Floyd | Thanks to the beta-testers: Marius M?ller, Zhou Fang, Kevin Floyd | Jackson-Mead, Sarah Morayati, Jake Eakle, and Emily Short. And to the Floyd | People's Republic of IF gang, who gave me feedback on an early Floyd | version. (It's not even alpha-testing when the game isn't finished Floyd | yet.) Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Another rule: don't go too fast for folks." | |||
| Lucea arrives, ready to play with the toys. | ||||
| Lucea says, "Hi" | Jacqueline says, "People need time to read, and not everyone read's awesomely fast. :)" | |||
| DavidW says, "hm. I forget if there were words in bold or italics or not. We won't be able to see highlighting like that if there is." | ||||
| Axyraandas says, "Ok. I'll just wait a minute or two then." | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x equation" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x me" | ||||
Floyd | "T. Jant Ganzfeld is a notable contract researcher in virtual Floyd | workspace design..." But you don't need to re-read your own Floyd | Distribupedia article. If this project works out, it'll get a lot more Floyd | impressive. If not -- goodbye to that "notable". And maybe that "is", Floyd | too. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 arrives, full of neither funk nor fun. | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "Hmm?" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "i" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying: Floyd | the pressure icon Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "What's going on here?" | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "x icon" | ||||
Floyd | It's a small symbol representing pressure, in all its aspects and Floyd | implications. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Ah, I see" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "push icon" | ||||
Floyd | You raise the pressure icon, consider its intricacies, and release it Floyd | into the workspace. It drifts away. Floyd | Floyd | Smoothly, elegantly, the workspace turns inside out. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; one could as easily see this Floyd | as a mosque, or a cloister. The symbolism is not important, only the Floyd | weight of dome and the curve of arch, bearing down into the roots of Floyd | the world. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace has condensed into a simple cube which squats in the Floyd | room's center. Floyd | Floyd | A red carpet runs from an illuminated altar, at the south end, to the Floyd | stand of brass pipes which dominates the north wall. Air throbs from Floyd | their arrayed notches and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | Magnificent, you think. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to AutomatonZX27), "we're playing a game together, type @joinch #clubfloyd" | * AutomatonZX27 has joined the channel. | |||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "drop icon" | ||||
Floyd | You haven't got that. Floyd | Floyd | This environment is a mere sketch, but you didn't sketch it. It's Floyd | grown entirely from your subconscious symbolism. This is what you've Floyd | been striving for. Now you just need to draw out more archetypes. Floyd | Floyd | > | Axyraandas says, "Oops. Sorry about that." | |||
| Mick says, "You did nothing wrong." | ||||
| DavidW says, "I think this game is mostly friendly. I don't think you can get it into a bad state." | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "x altar" | ||||
Floyd | The altar is a simple block of smoky marble, at one end of the red Floyd | carpet. Standing upon it is a tall candle, which is lit. Floyd | Floyd | A gust of air brushes over you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x altar" | ||||
Floyd | The altar is a simple block of smoky marble, at one end of the red Floyd | carpet. Standing upon it is a tall candle, which is lit. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says (to Automaton), "While we play the ClubFloyd game, all conversation is on this channel. To say 'blah' on the channel, type '#clubfloyd blah' the first time. After that you can say 'blah' by simply typing ';blah'" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "get candle" | ||||
Floyd | Upon closer examination, the candle is an archetype: heat. You reach Floyd | out and compile; it shrinks obligingly into a small icon, which you Floyd | take. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x icon" | ||||
Floyd | (the heat icon) Floyd | It's a small symbol representing heat, in all its ramifications and Floyd | aspects. Floyd | Floyd | Air moves through the cathedral. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "drop icn" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "push icon" | ||||
Floyd | (the heat icon) Floyd | You hold the heat icon up towards the workspace and give it a gentle Floyd | push. It slides neatly into place, and the world transforms around Floyd | you. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is closed. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it hang your two Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "drop icon" | ||||
Floyd | Which do you mean, the heat icon, or the pressure icon? Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "So, we're playing Dual Transform?" | |||
| Tale says, "Yeah, it's Merciful on the author's scale." | ||||
| DavidW says (to AutomatonZX27), "yes" | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You haven't got that. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "drop pressure icon" | ||||
Floyd | You haven't got that. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x chest" | ||||
Floyd | A heavy wooden trunk, at least a yard wide, stands at the south end of Floyd | the hall. The trunk is closed. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "Let's look at the chest" | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "open chest" | ||||
Floyd | You grab the lid and yank, but it doesn't move. You crouch and shift Floyd | your hold; but the chest is either locked, or jammed, or warped with Floyd | age. It will not open. Floyd | Floyd | The fire crackles unexpectedly. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x fire" | ||||
Floyd | A trench runs up the hall; bonfires are built along it in a blazing Floyd | chain. You can feel the yellow heat pressing against your face, and Floyd | your back is cool only in comparison. The air is nearly stifling. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "No go" | |||
| Axyraandas says, "It's impossible to open in this place." | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "i" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying nothing. Floyd | Floyd | The icons shift slightly in the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Maybe God will help you... (obvious hint)" | |||
| Nitku says, "Oh and another rule: if you've played before, no spoilers and no puzzle-solving" | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "invoke pressure icon" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment shifts around you. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | hang your two icons. Floyd | Floyd | Something is different here... You glance around. A small offering-box Floyd | now sits on top of the altar. You're sure it wasn't there before. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Shoot." | |||
| DavidW says, "yeah, try not to spoil please." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Okay, I'll be careful" | ||||
| Axyraandas exclaims, "Sorry!" | ||||
| Jacqueline says, "Yeah... if you've played before, there's another channel you can join: cf-spoilers" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x altar" | ||||
Floyd | The altar is a simple block of smoky marble, at one end of the red Floyd | carpet. Standing upon it is a small offering box, which is closed. Floyd | Floyd | > | Nitku says, "#cfspoilers" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x offering box" | ||||
Floyd | A small chased-silver box, perhaps an offering-box, rests on the Floyd | altar. The box is closed. Floyd | Floyd | You glance around the room, comparing locations. Yes, a direct Floyd | symbolic parallel: this tiny box occupies the same spot as the Floyd | enormous wooden chest. Floyd | Floyd | A puff of air brushes past you. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Oh, right - #cfspoilers" | |||
| Nitku says, "Maybe it's time to make #cf-spoilers an alias" | ||||
| Jacqueline says, "Anyway, it's perfectly acceptable to discuss the game in full on that channel, mock the players for not getting it, etc." | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "get box" | ||||
Floyd | Upon further inspection, the box is bolted down. Given that this is Floyd | your own imagery, you wonder what your subconscious is saying about Floyd | the rest of you. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says (to Nitku), "Yeah, we could do that." | |||
| Axyraandas asks, "How do you become a member of cfspoilers?" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "open box" | ||||
Floyd | You lift the lid. Disappointingly, the box is empty. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Stealing an offering box, how evil" | |||
| inky says, "type @join cfspoilers" | ||||
| Nitku says, "Because people get it wrong every time" | ||||
| (from Tale) Tale says, "So, those loosers, eh? Haw haw haw | ||||
| JJSonick says, "I guess we have to find an offering" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "type @joinc #cfspoilers" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x icons" | ||||
Floyd | Within the workspace you see the heat icon and the pressure icon. Floyd | Floyd | Air sighs through the cathedral. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky asks, "where is the puff of air coming from?" | |||
| inky says (to Floyd), "x air" | ||||
Floyd | The air here shifts in unpredictable gusts and currents; the organ Floyd | pipes blow gentle, unceasing turbulence throughout the room. Floyd | Floyd | The icons shift slightly in the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | inky says, "hmm, I guess it's a pressure thing" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take air" | ||||
Floyd | Air cannot be taken. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "Can we play the organ?" | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "x organ" | ||||
Floyd | Brass organ pipes cover the north wall. Air rushes through them -- not Floyd | loudly, but with a steady undertone of irregular chords. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "play organ" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick asks, "What if we put an icon inside the offering box?" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take pressure icon. put it in box." | ||||
Floyd | (invoke the pressure icon) Floyd | You poke the pressure icon, which flashes reprovingly, since it is Floyd | already active. Floyd | Floyd | You don't need to store anything here. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "Poop." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "I don't think you can get the icons back" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take fire icon. put it in box." | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take heat icon. put it in box." | ||||
Floyd | (invoke the heat icon) Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment changes into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it hang your two Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | Wait, open? You jerk your gaze back to the chest, and yes -- it now Floyd | stands open, revealing a knife. A true isomorphic parallel to the Floyd | silver offering-box, then. Floyd | Floyd | You don't need to store anything here. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "I guess touching them invokes them." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Icon OS IX" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x knife" | ||||
Floyd | Lying in the chest is a knife, a plain black iron blade with a Floyd | leather-wrapped hilt. You see immediately that the knife is an Floyd | archetype of light. Floyd | Floyd | The icons shift slightly in the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take it" | ||||
Floyd | You take the knife and compile. It shrinks obligingly into a small Floyd | icon. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | > | Lucea asks, "Do we have a driver?" | |||
| Axyraandas exclaims, "Yay! The chest is open!" | inky says, "not really" | |||
| DavidW says (to Lucea), "no, we're being freeform today." | ||||
| Lucea says, "OK" | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "x icon" | ||||
Floyd | (the light icon) Floyd | It's a small symbol representing light, in all its details and Floyd | ramifications. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "touch it" | ||||
Floyd | You hold the light icon up and give it a push towards the workspace. Floyd | It slides neatly into place, and the world transforms around you. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. Floyd | But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and Floyd | the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, Floyd | however, you see only black. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it drift three icons. Floyd | Floyd | A worn axe is jammed into a stalactite, just to the south. Floyd | Unfortunately, it's well above your head. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas asks, "What's a driver?" | AutomatonZX27 says, "A person who plays the game, I think" | |||
| Mick says (to Axy), "Talk on the channel please." | ||||
| Gerynar says, "one person to enter commands" | ||||
| Jacqueline says (to Ax), "A designated person who enters our commands." | ||||
| Jacqueline says, "Makes things go at a slower pace, and works really well if we appear to be on a timer." | ||||
| Axyraandas says, "Thanks. I just forgot how to speak on a certain channel again. I really ought to write this down." | Jacqueline says, "Otherwise the main entering etiquette is not to leave a location without general agreement, or you'll get people trying a command only to find that they're not in that room anymore, which is annoying." | |||
| Jacqueline says (to Ax), "Type ;dkfjdkj" | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "jump" | ||||
Floyd | You can't jump quite high enough to reach the axe. Floyd | Floyd | Air flutters, somewhere overhead. Floyd | Floyd | > | Jacqueline says, "Just preface what you want to say with a semi-colon." | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x axe" | ||||
Floyd | It's an axe, perhaps an old spelunker's tool. It's stuck into a Floyd | stalactite, which projects down out of the darkness above. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Try the stream (I didn't play up to this point so no more spoilers from me, this is just a suggestion)" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x stream" | ||||
Floyd | A shallow stream of water flows nearby. Where it ripples, it sheds a Floyd | slight phosphorescence -- the only illumination around you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drink water" | ||||
Floyd | You scoop up a few drops and lick them from your fingers. The water Floyd | tastes very clean, and very old. Floyd | Floyd | You hear a few bats flutter by, off to snack on insects somewhere. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take axe" | ||||
Floyd | The axe is stuck too high to reach. Floyd | Floyd | The icons rebound gently off the sides of the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "So.. that organ was kinda interesting." | |||
| Mick asks, "I'm trying to figure out how everything links together (or if that's how things work). For instance, why is there no box here?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to floyd), "invoke pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment transforms around Floyd | you. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small Floyd | open offering box. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | drift three icons. Floyd | Floyd | A rough pewter chalice is lying near the altar. Ah -- this must be the Floyd | parallel of the rusty axe. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Aha" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x pewter" | ||||
Floyd | The chalice is dull metal -- roughly-hammered, and decorated only by Floyd | scratches. It is empty. Floyd | Floyd | A breath of air brushes over you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x take it" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take pewter" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "Hmm, it didn't become an icon, let's see what it becomes when we..." | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "invoke heat" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment shifts into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it drift three Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to floyd), "invoke light" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the light icon, and the environment changes around you. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. Floyd | But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and Floyd | the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, Floyd | however, you see only black. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it drift three icons. Floyd | Floyd | The icons rebound gently off the sides of the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "i" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying: Floyd | a pewter chalice Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "maybe we can fill it with water from the stream? Don't know what good that would do, though" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Oops." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Well, it did say the water was glowing a bit" | ||||
| Mick says, "Ah, I was expecting it to change to the axe or something else." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "Maybe it's a light source?" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take water with chalice" | ||||
Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to take the stream. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "put water in chalice" | ||||
Floyd | You kneel and fill the chalice with stream water. Floyd | Floyd | Air flutters, somewhere overhead. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "drop chalice" | ||||
Floyd | As you release the pewter chalice full of water, it shimmers. You Floyd | watch, fascinated, as its shape readjusts to its new environment. In Floyd | moments, the pewter chalice full of water has reverted to being a Floyd | rusty axe. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick asks, "Want to go drop it in the heat place and see what happens?" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "There we go" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to floyd), "take axe" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press heat" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment transforms into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it drift three Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drop axe" | ||||
Floyd | As the rusty axe leaves your grasp, it shimmers and transforms into a Floyd | wooden torch. Floyd | Floyd | The icons rebound gently off the sides of the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "Ahah" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take it. press light" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | You invoke the light icon, and the environment shifts around you. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. Floyd | But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and Floyd | the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, Floyd | however, you see only black. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it drift three icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Now try to light it" | |||
| Mick says, "Ooops, sorry, I assumed it was lit" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Hehe" | ||||
| Mick says, "press heat. light torch" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press heat. light torch" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment changes into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it drift three Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | The flame catches easily. The torch is now burning brightly. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press light" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the light icon, and the environment transforms around you. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You stand in an echoing space; your torch picks glimmers of reflection Floyd | from distant stone walls. A chill stream trickles past you and away Floyd | into the darkness. Floyd | Floyd | The torchlight reveals a pale fat mushroom squatting in a corner of Floyd | the cave, a short distance away. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it drift three icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to floyd), "examine mushroom" | ||||
Floyd | A pale mushroom shines dimly in a nearby corner of the cave. You Floyd | recognize the mushroom as an archetype of charge. Floyd | Floyd | The icons rebound gently off the sides of the workspace. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take it" | ||||
Floyd | You take the mushroom and compile. It shrinks obligingly into a small Floyd | icon. Floyd | Floyd | Air flutters, somewhere overhead. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x small icon" | ||||
Floyd | (the charge icon) Floyd | It's a small symbol representing charge, in all its implications and Floyd | details. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "Uh, charge?" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press charge" | ||||
Floyd | You hold the charge icon up and push it towards the workspace. It Floyd | resists for a moment, and then slides into place. The environment Floyd | transforms. Floyd | Floyd | Laboratory Floyd | This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron Floyd | beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass; it creaks and Floyd | flexes under the assault of the hammering rain outside. Floyd | Floyd | A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted Floyd | by copper and glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to the Floyd | apparatus, hanging every which way. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it move four Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "The ultimate goal is to achieve virtual mushroom soup" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "How does a mushroom signify charge?" | ||||
| Mick says, "The same way a dagger signifies light." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "Well, maybe it's like, well-polished so it's all shiny?" | ||||
| Axyraandas says, "Perhaps the mushroom glows, so it has charge or something." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine apparatus" | ||||
Floyd | A fat brass vessel, a riveted cauldron of a thing, squats before you. Floyd | A narrow copper pipe curves from the tank's top; the pipe spirals up Floyd | inside of a wider glass flask. Floyd | Floyd | Through a small porthole you can see the contents of the tank: a heap Floyd | of rusty brown flakes lying in a cloud of sparkling vapor. Floyd | Floyd | Lightning illuminates the storm overhead, followed instantly by a Floyd | deafening crack of thunder. At the same moment, you notice the vapor Floyd | in the tank suddenly whirl and dance. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine flakes" | ||||
Floyd | In the brass tank is a small heap of some flaky mineral; the substance Floyd | is rusty brown with faint flecks of gold. Sparkling vapor rises from Floyd | the material and swirls within the tank. Floyd | Floyd | > | Nitku says, "It does charge Mario up" | |||
| JJSonick says, "Haha - true." | ||||
| Doug says, "for what it's worth, I just looked up "ganzfeld" (the protag's last name). "A ganzfeld experiment (from the German for 'entire field') is a technique used in the field of parapsychology to test individuals for extrasensory perception (ESP)."" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Hah, yeah" | ||||
| Doug | It uses homogeneous and unpatterned sensory stimulation to produce an effect similar to sensory deprivation.[1] The deprivation of patterned sensory input is said to be conducive to inwardly generated impressions. | ||||
| Mick asks, "Is that like what the shapes on the cards in Ghostbusters?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "So, all these areas are fake and we're actually in a phonebooth-sized capsule?" | ||||
| Doug says, "I don't know what the "T. Jant" in the name is a referene to though. Nor do I know what "Nigel Smith" is a reference to (zarf's pseudonym for this game)" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Nigel Smith sounds familiar to me for some reason" | ||||
| Mick says, "Mr. Smith" | ||||
| Doug says (to Mick), "no, those are Zener cards" | ||||
| (from Tale) AutomatonZX27 says, "Did he write a jayisgames comp game?" | ||||
| Jacqueline says (to Mick), "No, you're thinking of Mr. Anderson." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Ooh, Nigel Smith's restaurant" | ||||
| Doug says, "hm, yeah, Smith could be a Matrix reference." | ||||
| Mick says (to Jacq), "I thought Neo was Mr. Anderson." | ||||
| Mick says, "I suppose I meant Agent Smith, but I'm not sure at all that's really the reference." | ||||
| Doug | [LINK] | ||||
| Doug asks, "I'm guessing that's not it. but... maybe?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Or maybe there's no reference and he's just playing with our minds" | ||||
| Doug says, "he's said it meant something, but no one's figured it out yet" | ||||
| Doug says, "anyway, back to the game..." | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
| JJSonick is eaten by a duck-dragon. | ||||
Floyd | Laboratory Floyd | This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron Floyd | beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the Floyd | roaring rain outside. Floyd | Floyd | A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted Floyd | by copper and glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to the Floyd | apparatus, hanging every which way. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it move four Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x wires" | ||||
Floyd | Wires run from the tank up to the roof, or from the roof down to the Floyd | tank, as you like. They are connected above to antennas which thrust Floyd | from the roof, up into the storm. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace quivers. You glance at it, and notice the icons moving Floyd | jerkily inside. Strange. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Hm" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "The icons are angry because they're trapped" | ||||
| Mick asks, "So this is basically like Frakenstein's lab?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "hm, without the monster, sure." | ||||
| JJSonick arrives, full of fun, but no funk. | AutomatonZX27 says, "Or maybe it's Alchemy 101" | |||
| JJSonick is eaten by a duck-dragon. | Mick says, "x workspace" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x workspace" | ||||
Floyd | The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it Floyd | are the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure Floyd | icon, all moving jerkily. Floyd | Floyd | Lightning flashes somewhere nearby. At the same moment, you notice the Floyd | vapor in the tank suddenly whirl and dance. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x tank" | ||||
Floyd | A fat brass vessel, a riveted cauldron of a thing, squats before you. Floyd | A narrow copper pipe curves from the tank's top; the pipe spirals up Floyd | inside of a wider glass flask. Floyd | Floyd | Through a small porthole you can see the contents of the tank: a heap Floyd | of rusty brown flakes lying in a cloud of sparkling vapor. Floyd | Floyd | Thunder rumbles. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "yell "It's alive!" and laugh maniacally while a thunderstorm rages in the background" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug | [LINK] | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Don't pay attention to what I just did." | ||||
| Johnny concentrates, and disappears. | Doug | 1. A male or female that you find attractive (also known as bum jant.) | |||
| Mick asks, "What do you think those flakes are?" | ||||
| JJSonick arrives, full of funk, but no fun. | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "x flask" | ||||
Floyd | A wide glass flask is suspended above the tank. The copper pipe runs Floyd | up to it, and then spirals up the flask's interior. You notice the Floyd | inside of the flask, and the pipe within it, show a dry white crust -- Floyd | as if the flask had boiled dry. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "They have traces of gold on them" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to floyd), "take ye flask" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "cute" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Hm, too bad" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x flakes" | ||||
Floyd | In the brass tank is a small heap of some flaky mineral; the substance Floyd | is rusty brown with faint flecks of gold. Sparkling vapor rises from Floyd | the material and swirls within the tank. Floyd | Floyd | Lightning flashes somewhere in the distance. At the same moment, you Floyd | notice the vapor in the tank suddenly whirl and dance. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drop torch" | ||||
Floyd | As the flaming torch leaves your grasp, it shimmers and transforms Floyd | into a brass compass. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace quivers as the icons move. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x compass" | ||||
Floyd | The compass is a palm-sized instrument, precisely engraved. The needle Floyd | wavers uncertainly in this charged atmosphere. Floyd | Floyd | Thunder rumbles. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take compass" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "I was hoping for something more.. useful" | |||
| Johnny arrives, ready to play with the toys. | Doug | Cheerful; merry. [Provincial English] Where were dainty ducks and jant ones, Wenches that could play the wantons. | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Like a manual or something" | ||||
| Mick says, "So we got ourselves a swiss-chalice/axe/torch/compass" | ||||
| JJSonick asks, "Hm, we need to refill the flask?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Try going back to the church and dropping the compass" | ||||
| Mick says, "I have a feeling we want to get to those flakes." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Rusty brown flakes with faint flecks of gold are an IF player's best friend" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment shifts into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small Floyd | open offering box. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | move four icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick asks, "Want to try smashing open the thing with the axe?" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "drop compass" | ||||
Floyd | As the brass compass leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a pewter Floyd | chalice full of water. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace quivers as the icons move. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "That's impressive that the water remains." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Maybe we really do need to refill the flask" | ||||
| JJSonick asks, "Can we put the water in the flask?" | ||||
| Mick says, "I wonder if the water transforms to something if we dump it out" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take chalice" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | A gust of air brushes past you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke charge. fill flask with water." | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the charge icon, and the environment changes around you. Floyd | Floyd | Laboratory Floyd | This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron Floyd | beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the Floyd | roaring rain outside. Floyd | Floyd | A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted Floyd | by copper and glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to the Floyd | apparatus, hanging every which way. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it move four Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | You carefully pour the water around the pipe, filling the glass flask. Floyd | Floyd | The water immediately begins to bubble in the flask. Inside the tank, Floyd | the sparkling vapor begins to rise, as if being drawn up the pipe. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "z" | ||||
Floyd | Time passes. Your deadline creeps closer. Floyd | Floyd | Hair-fine red crystals, like frost, are beginning to form at the top Floyd | of the pipe. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "Hehe, was that the right thing to do?" | |||
| Mick says, "I think so" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine crystals" | ||||
Floyd | A delicate snowflake of red crystal is forming at the top of the Floyd | copper pipe, above the flask. It grows before your eyes. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace quivers as the icons move. Floyd | Floyd | A red crystalline snowflake is condensing on the copper spike. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "Red frost. I'm dreaming of a Red Christmas." | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "snowflake" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x snowflake" | ||||
Floyd | A delicate snowflake of red crystal is forming at the top of the Floyd | copper pipe, above the flask. It grows before your eyes. Floyd | Floyd | The red crystal continues to solidify. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "z" | ||||
Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The last of the vapor is drawn from the tank, as the red crystal Floyd | finishes filling out; it is now a solid polyhedral mass. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "touch crystal" | ||||
Floyd | You feel nothing unexpected. Floyd | Floyd | Lightning illuminates the storm overhead, followed instantly by a Floyd | deafening crack of thunder. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take it" | ||||
Floyd | It appears that the crystal is an archetype: weight. You reach out and Floyd | compile; it shrinks obligingly into a small icon, which you take. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take crystal" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick exclaims, "We grew a D&D die!" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press weight" | ||||
Floyd | You push the weight icon towards the workspace -- but it skids to the Floyd | side. You tighten your grip to try again. With some careful pressure, Floyd | the icon slides into place. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. It is only at a second glance that Floyd | you realize they are not stacked with books. Instead, arms are arrayed Floyd | in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other Floyd | description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently Floyd | menacing. Floyd | Floyd | A single bookcase stands to the west -- that is, one case which is Floyd | full of books, as opposed to metal. It is fitted with doors, however, Floyd | and they are closed. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "If it's full of weapons, shouldn't it be called an armory?" | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drop chalice" | ||||
Floyd | As the pewter chalice leaves your grasp, it shimmers and transforms Floyd | into a silver key. Floyd | Floyd | The blades overhead clink gently. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I have to say: it's a *strange* library that has dangling blades overhead." | |||
| JJSonick says, "Stay gentle, blades." | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take key. unlock door" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | (with the silver key) Floyd | You prod at the doors, but you see no way to insert a key at all. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "open door" | ||||
Floyd | The bookcase's doors are closed and locked. You see no keyhole. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "hmm" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Or maybe the librarians hired a very innovative interior designer" | ||||
| Mick says, "Maybe it's an alternate universe where people go to war by bashing each other over the head with books." | ||||
| DavidW asks, "Alternate?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "With books such as "Grammar Adapted to the Hardest of Heads: Unabridged Edition - Now with Even More Pain when You Hit Someone"" | ||||
| Tale asks, "Wasn't something like this in Tomb Raider 1?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine books" | ||||
Floyd | The books, like the weapons, vary wildly in size and heft. No titles Floyd | are evident, but they are bound in all shades of green and brown. And Floyd | since they are locked away behind a steel screen, you have no idea Floyd | what they contain. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick asks, "Huh, since there's lots of weapon peer-pressure in this room, maybe we're supposed to use the axe on the doors?" | |||
| JJSonick says, "But it's weird that we've been given a key, then" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Well, we got a chalice in the church" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take swords" | ||||
Floyd | Unfortunately, they're all strapped tightly to the shelves. Except for Floyd | the blades that are hanging from chains from the roof, and you can't Floyd | reach those. Apparently this is not a lending library. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "But used it in the lab" | |||
| Mick says, "we still have it, it's now a chalice/axe/torch/compass/key" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke light" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the light icon, and the environment transforms into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. Floyd | But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and Floyd | the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, Floyd | however, you see only black. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drop key" | ||||
Floyd | As the silver key leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a rusty axe. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "drop key" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take ace" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take axe" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | Air flutters, somewhere overhead. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x workspace" | ||||
Floyd | The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it Floyd | are the weight icon, the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, Floyd | and the pressure icon, all bouncing around. Floyd | Floyd | (Your workspace, of course, is not visually rendered. It would be Floyd | visible even in total darkness.) Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press weight" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment shifts around you. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | A single bookcase stands to the west -- that is, one case which is Floyd | full of books, as opposed to metal. It is fitted with doors, however, Floyd | and they are closed. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "hit screen with axe" | ||||
Floyd | You whack the bookcase with the axe, but it is solid. And the axe Floyd | isn't that sharp. Floyd | Floyd | The blades overhead clink gently. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Okay, where's the whetstone" | |||
| Mick says, "It's also possible it's simply a matter of finding the keyhole." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "scrutinize screen" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x bookcase" | ||||
Floyd | The bookcase is a tall wooden affair, finely built; the wood is inlaid Floyd | with an abstract pattern of tree branches. Behind the steel-mesh doors Floyd | are rows of books, bound in old green and brown leather. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Too bad this isn't Guess The Verb" | |||
| Gerynar asks, "would the key open say, the box in the church?" | ||||
| Mick says, "we already opened that" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "sorry, my brother called so I haven't been paying all that much attention" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Maybe there's another item connected to the screen, kinda like the box and chest" | ||||
| Mick says, "maybe we try closing it" | ||||
| Mick says, "*should try" | ||||
| Mick asks, "Why is this room called 'weight'?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment changes into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small Floyd | open offering box. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | The west wall is now filled by an enormous stained-glass window, which Floyd | certainly wasn't there before. The window depicts a tall green tree, Floyd | standing in a field of lesser greenery. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "Because books are heavy?" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine window" | ||||
Floyd | The glass tiles are not set in lead; perhaps the mosaic is fused or Floyd | cemented. However the window was made, it shines with thousands of Floyd | tints of green. Floyd | Floyd | A puff of air brushes over you. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "I'm wondering if it's a clue to how we are supposed to treat the puzzle" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "open window" | ||||
Floyd | There's no way to open that. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Too bad" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "break window" | ||||
Floyd | You raise the axe, and chop down at the window. Glass splinters, and Floyd | the window cracks alarmingly. Then, with a towering crash, the entire Floyd | window shatters into a cascade of broken green glass. Floyd | Floyd | When the catastrophe ends, the window frame is a jagged hole, beyond Floyd | which is a blank white marble wall. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Brute force is always the way to go." | |||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x hole" | ||||
Floyd | Shards of broken green glass spill across the floor. Behind the window Floyd | casing is only blank white marble. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug says, "there's a lot of gravity when you have sharp objects hanging from the ceiling." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke weight" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment transforms around you. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they Floyd | hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine books" | ||||
Floyd | You pick up a book and open it. The pages are all blank. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Oh god" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take books" | ||||
Floyd | You open another book; this one, too, is blank. Floyd | Floyd | The blades overhead clink gently. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "i" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying: Floyd | a rusty axe Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Maybe if we keep searching, we'll find an actual book, not a blank notebook" | |||
| Tale says, "It's not a library, it's a diary shop." | ||||
| Mick says, "We could burn the books, and see if it changes a different room somehow." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "search books" | ||||
Floyd | You dig into the pile of books, but there are many of them, and none Floyd | stand out. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take book" | ||||
Floyd | Still blank. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "again" | ||||
Floyd | Still blank. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press heat. drop all" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment shifts into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | Something new lies here, on the west side of the hall. It's a dead, Floyd | gnarled tree, lying uprooted where certainly you saw no tree before. Floyd | Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the bare Floyd | branches. Floyd | Floyd | (the rusty axe) Floyd | As the rusty axe leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a flaming Floyd | torch. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press weight. burn books with torch" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment changes around you. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they Floyd | hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | A silver key shines gently on the floor. Floyd | Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to burn the books. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "I was just about to try "write a bestseller"" | |||
| Mick says, "whoops" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press heat. take torch" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment transforms into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | A torch is lying on the ground, burning unsteadily. Floyd | Floyd | The old tree has been uprooted; it lies dead on the west side of the Floyd | hall. Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the Floyd | bare branches. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press weight. Burn books with torch" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment shifts around you. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they Floyd | hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to burn the books. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "burn books" | ||||
Floyd | That's a horrible idea, even for blank books. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 asks, "Wait, was that tree there before?" | |||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "search books" | ||||
Floyd | You dig into the pile of books, but there are many of them, and none Floyd | stand out. Floyd | Floyd | The blades overhead clink gently. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "Huff" | |||
| DavidW says (to AutomatonZX27), "nope" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "write a bestseller" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke heat" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment changes into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five Floyd | icons. Floyd | Floyd | The old tree has been uprooted; it lies dead on the west side of the Floyd | hall. Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the Floyd | bare branches. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Lucea says (to floyd), "search leaves" | ||||
Floyd | You grab a handful of leaves; they crumble away. Well, you think, and Floyd | dig in with both hands. Leaves disintegrate in clumps and wafts, Floyd | filling the air with dust. It doesn't take long before the entire heap Floyd | is gone. Floyd | Floyd | A single leaf remains, lying against the fallen tree. Unlike the Floyd | others, this one gleams bright metallic gold. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine tree" | ||||
Floyd | The tree lies uprooted upon the earth. A single gold leaf remains, Floyd | lying against the wood. Floyd | Floyd | Sweat begins to drip from you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take gold leaf" | ||||
Floyd | You realize that the gold leaf is not real; it is painted on the Floyd | fallen tree. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug says, "should have counted the leaves!" | |||
| DavidW says, "heh" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "There's 69,105 of them, I bet" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "burn tree" | ||||
Floyd | The leaves are already gone. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "I bet the books are gone now." | |||
| DavidW says, "Except maybe for a gold one." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke weight" | JJSonick says, "Ah, yeah, that sounds right." | |||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment transforms around you. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they Floyd | hang in pieces. A single book remains, a small golden volume. It is Floyd | chained to the bookcase with a gold padlock. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "nice" | |||
| JJSonick says, "aha" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine book" | ||||
Floyd | The remaining book is a small volume, the size of your palm, but its Floyd | leather cover is leafed in gold. It is chained to the bottom shelf Floyd | with a gold chain and padlock. You see immediately that the book is an Floyd | archetype of form. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "drop torch" | ||||
Floyd | As the flaming torch leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a silver Floyd | key. Floyd | Floyd | The blades overhead clink gently. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take key. unlock padlock with key." | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | The silver key unlocks the padlock with a tiny snick. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take book" | ||||
Floyd | You take the book and compile. It shrinks obligingly into a small Floyd | icon. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "put icon in workspace" | ||||
Floyd | (the form icon in the workspace) Floyd | You raise the form icon, and feel the tangible resistance beating from Floyd | the workspace. What a mess. You lean against it, and slowly shove the Floyd | icon into its place. Floyd | Floyd | Stone Circle Floyd | You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and Floyd | massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at Floyd | all. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six Floyd | icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x sky" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x stones" | ||||
Floyd | The stones are massive, worn, and very old. You can make out little Floyd | else. Floyd | Floyd | You count eight stones around you. Seven of them are of similar Floyd | height; one is much taller. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Hey, Stonehenge" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine tall stone" | ||||
Floyd | The taller stone is to the... the... Floyd | Floyd | Hang on. You're not sure which direction that is. How bizarre. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug says, "I was thinking Snow White." | |||
| Mick says, "I wonder if it corresponds to the number of rooms" | ||||
| Mick says, "sounds like we need the compass" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "Ah, yes" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press charge" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the charge icon, and the environment shifts into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Laboratory Floyd | This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron Floyd | beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the Floyd | roaring rain outside. Floyd | Floyd | A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted Floyd | by copper and bubbling glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to Floyd | the apparatus, hanging every which way. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it the six icons Floyd | whirl. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "drop key" | ||||
Floyd | As the silver key leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a brass Floyd | compass. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "drop key" | ||||
Floyd | You can't see any such thing. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take compass" | ||||
Floyd | Taken. Floyd | Floyd | Lightning illuminates the storm overhead, followed instantly by a Floyd | deafening crack of thunder. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x icons" | ||||
Floyd | Within the workspace you see the form icon, the weight icon, the Floyd | charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all Floyd | whirling rapidly. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke form" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the form icon, and the environment changes around you. Floyd | Floyd | Stone Circle Floyd | You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and Floyd | massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at Floyd | all. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six Floyd | icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine tall stone" | ||||
Floyd | The taller stone is to the... the... Floyd | Floyd | Hang on. You're not sure which direction that is. How bizarre. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine compass" | ||||
Floyd | You bend over the compass. The needle turns slowly, as if seeking Floyd | something more subtle than magnetic north. It gleams, catching the Floyd | moonlight... Floyd | Floyd | Wait. There is no moon. Something glows in your cupped hand -- no Floyd | longer a brass compass -- and then it crawls between your fingers and Floyd | flutters upward. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "look up" | ||||
Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to look. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | Stone Circle Floyd | You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and Floyd | massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at Floyd | all. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six Floyd | icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | A glowing moth is fluttering erratically back and forth around the Floyd | Circle, above you. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x moth" | ||||
Floyd | The moth is fluttering erratically back and forth around the Circle, Floyd | above you. Its wings glow softly against the night sky. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take moth" | ||||
Floyd | It's just out of reach. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "x workspace" | ||||
Floyd | The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it Floyd | are the form icon, the weight icon, the charge icon, the light icon, Floyd | the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all whirling rapidly. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "jump" | ||||
Floyd | You can't jump high enough to catch the glowing moth. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "inv" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying nothing. Floyd | Floyd | > | Gerynar asks, "do we know why the workspace is shaking?" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Probably this experiment is nearing its end" | ||||
| JJSonick says, "It mentioned we had to force the form icon in there -- and also, yeah, we must be near the end." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "don't panic" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "I think every icon makes it less stable." | |||
| DavidW says, "This is the beginning of the endgame, I believe." | ||||
| Mick asks, "should we save then?" | ||||
| DavidW clears the save counter. | AutomatonZX27 says, "Probably" | |||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "SAVE" | ||||
| DavidW says (to Floyd), "cf1" | ||||
Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "I don't think the save is necessary, but just in case." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "look" | ||||
Floyd | Stone Circle Floyd | You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and Floyd | massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at Floyd | all. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six Floyd | icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The glowing moth is fluttering erratically back and forth around the Floyd | Circle, above you. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine stones" | ||||
Floyd | The stones are massive, worn, and very old. You can make out little Floyd | else. Floyd | Floyd | You count eight stones around you. Seven of them are of similar Floyd | height; one is much taller. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "x tall stone" | ||||
Floyd | The taller stone is to the... but you're not sure which direction is Floyd | which. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Let's check the almighty church" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment transforms into a Floyd | new form. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small Floyd | open offering box. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | the six icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | Interesting -- the glowing moth has remained invariant, in the room's Floyd | transformation. It is fluttering around the Church, unchanged. Floyd | Floyd | The window is broken, but most of the glass is gone. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "take moth" | ||||
Floyd | It escapes your grasp. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x glass" | ||||
Floyd | The window is shattered, although most of the broken glass has Floyd | vanished. Behind the window casing is only blank white marble. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick asks, "So what room would a moth be of use to us in?" | |||
| JJSonick asks, "There was one that had a gust of wind? Maybe?" | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke light" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the light icon, and the environment shifts around you. Floyd | Floyd | Cave Floyd | You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. Floyd | But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and Floyd | the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, Floyd | however, you see only black. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it the six icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | As the Cave forms around you, the glowing moth flutters up into its Floyd | high, dark recesses. Its light shines softly on gleaming limestone. Floyd | Floyd | And on the bats. One flutters by and nips the moth right out of the Floyd | air. Whoops. Floyd | Floyd | The moth shimmers, desperately seeking another form, one less Floyd | vulnerable. It breaks up into pixels -- and reforms as a fat Floyd | snowflake, drifting around the upper regions of the Cave. The bats, Floyd | apparently uninterested in bits of ice, now ignore it. Floyd | Floyd | > | Mick says, "That was the church." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "Aha" | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press heat" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the heat icon, and the environment changes into a new form. Floyd | Floyd | Longhall Floyd | You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is Floyd | earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the Floyd | blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length. Floyd | Floyd | At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands Floyd | on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty. Floyd | Floyd | The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it the six icons Floyd | whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The old tree has been uprooted; it lies dead on the west side of the Floyd | hall. Its limbs are bare, except for a single gold leaf lying against Floyd | the wood. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | The snowflake whirls in the fire-pit's smoky updrafts, as the Longhall Floyd | shimmers into place. In moments the flake is losing its luster. Floyd | Floyd | Again it shimmers away. This time it sublimates into a smoke-ring, Floyd | which drifts above you in cheerful disregard of the heat. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke heat" | ||||
Floyd | You poke the heat icon, but it is already active. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke pressure" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment transforms around Floyd | you. Floyd | Floyd | Church Floyd | White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The Floyd | walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the Floyd | room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air Floyd | throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber. Floyd | Floyd | To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small Floyd | open offering box. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it Floyd | the six icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The window is broken, but most of the glass is gone. Floyd | Floyd | The smoke ring is torn this way and that way in the Church's turbulent Floyd | gusts of air. It begins to tatter... and then shimmers into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | A long silk thread now rides the air currents. It swirls back and Floyd | forth, curling and twisting, but never falling. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "press weight" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the weight icon, and the environment shifts into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Library Floyd | Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy Floyd | rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. Floyd | More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing. Floyd | Floyd | The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they Floyd | hang in pieces. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it the six icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | The silk thread slides among the hanging blades, or tries to. It Floyd | tangles, is caught, and the many edges pull at it... Floyd | Floyd | The thread dissolves into pixels, and becomes a miniature silver kite, Floyd | which slides dextrously between the blades. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke charge" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the charge icon, and the environment changes around you. Floyd | Floyd | Laboratory Floyd | This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron Floyd | beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the Floyd | roaring rain outside. Floyd | Floyd | A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted Floyd | by copper and bubbling glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to Floyd | the apparatus, hanging every which way. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it the six icons Floyd | whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The silver kite bobs near the wires, and jerks as a spark leaps across Floyd | to it. It tries to slide away; but a flash of lightning sears the sky, Floyd | and the room's air grows prickly and electric. Sparks dance from the Floyd | kite's tail, and the wires pull it closer -- Floyd | Floyd | The kite shimmers away... into a gleam of pure light that plays across Floyd | the roof. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke form" | ||||
Floyd | You invoke the form icon, and the environment transforms into a new Floyd | form. Floyd | Floyd | Stone Circle Floyd | You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and Floyd | massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at Floyd | all. Floyd | Floyd | Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six Floyd | icons whirl. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | There is no roof now, only the night sky... and the gleam of light Floyd | shines upwards, unimpeded, into the darkness. Floyd | Floyd | You can still see it there. And then, as your eyes adjust, you can see Floyd | more. Sparks of light, infinitely distant. The stars are out. Floyd | Floyd | ...How did you miss it? The starlight illuminates a shape at your Floyd | feet. It's a small, perfect model of a room: your workspace. Your Floyd | usual, habitual workspace -- not this fluid environment. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "x model" | ||||
Floyd | It's a small glass model of an office workspace. Every detail within Floyd | is perfect. You see immediately that the model room is an archetype of Floyd | metasemantics. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine workspace" | ||||
Floyd | (the model room) Floyd | It's a small glass model of an office workspace. Every detail within Floyd | is perfect. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "take it" | ||||
Floyd | You take the model room and compile. It shrinks obligingly into a Floyd | small icon. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace is shaking. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Metasemantics." | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "put icon in workspace" | ||||
Floyd | (the metasemantics icon in the workspace) Floyd | The metasemantics icon shudders in your grip. Pushing it into the Floyd | workspace is like forcing it through gravel, but you lean into the Floyd | force. After several moments of struggle, the icon is in place. The Floyd | world changes... Floyd | Floyd | Room Floyd | This is your workspace. All your furniture and things are set up just Floyd | as you like them. The exit is to the south. Floyd | Floyd | The cube representing your workspace sits on a desk. Inside it, the Floyd | seven icons vibrate wildly. Floyd | Floyd | You look around. This, too, is magnificent -- in a quiet way. The Floyd | program has condensed your style of interaction into a tangible Floyd | metaphor... a perfect rendition of the way you work. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine furniture" | ||||
Floyd | Your stuff is all just as you expect. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace cube buzzes angrily. Really, what is going on with that? Floyd | It must be some kind of physical simulation fault. You'll sort it out Floyd | tomorrow. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Mick says (to Floyd), "s" | ||||
Floyd | You turn, and reach for the exit of your virtual environment. Floyd | Floyd | There is a wild crash behind you. You spin. The workspace cube lies in Floyd | splinters, sprayed across your desk, tinkling to the floor. Above it Floyd | are whirling seven -- forces -- that grow, and become more potent -- Floyd | Floyd | Then the walls are splintering, too. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Trapped Floyd | Nothing surrounds you. The virtual space is absolutely blank... but no Floyd | longer unbounded. You are unable to move, or to escape. Floyd | Floyd | You wonder if someone will come looking. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** To be continued *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, or QUIT? Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine desk" | ||||
Floyd | Please give one of the answers above. Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, or QUIT? Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "Intriguing" | |||
| Mick says, "yes" | ||||
| Jacqueline says, "huh" | ||||
| DavidW says, "Congrats!" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "I don't think we were really in our room" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "just another simulation" | ||||
| Axyraandas says, "It sounds like Nirvana to me." | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says, "There is no cube" | ||||
| Doug says, "I don't think we're really in a toyshop." | ||||
| Jacqueline touches Doug's arm and finds him but a shadow. "I think we're really all in separate rooms." | ||||
| Mick says, "The ending in darkness is strange." | ||||
| JJSonick says, "The lesson is, don't ignore an angrily buzzing cube, kids." | ||||
| Axyraandas asks, "Perhaps the laws of the universe...broke?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "Also, get a bigger workshop." | ||||
| Tale says, "This is a lead in to the sequel, Advanced Metasemantics: An exercise in posthumanism" | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "undo" | AutomatonZX27 says, "In the event that the cube DOES speak, please disregard its advice." | |||
Floyd | | Axyraandas says, "The sequel would be interesting." | |||
| Nitku says, "I have inside information that the story will continue in Zarf's upcoming graphical escape-the-room game" | ||||
| Doug asks, "hm, did I break it?" | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "/undo" | ||||
Floyd | Room Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | Axyraandas asks, "Which escape-the-room game is this? Does it have a name yet?" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "examine desk" | ||||
Floyd | Your stuff is all just as you expect. Floyd | Floyd | This is a good stopping point, however. You should leave and report in Floyd | to your client. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug says, "thanks" | |||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x cube" | ||||
Floyd | The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it Floyd | are the metasemantics icon, the form icon, the weight icon, the charge Floyd | icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all Floyd | vibrating wildly around. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates violently. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "fix cube" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | Nitku says (to Axyraandas), "That's all I know" | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "get cube" | ||||
Floyd | You are already in your workspace. This is it. This is where you work. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x desk" | ||||
Floyd | Your stuff is all just as you expect. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace shudders irately. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, ""Call Cube Customer Support"" | |||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "x icons" | ||||
Floyd | Within the workspace you see the metasemantics icon, the form icon, Floyd | the weight icon, the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and Floyd | the pressure icon, all vibrating wildly around. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "i" | ||||
Floyd | You are carrying nothing. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace shakes dangerously. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "l" | AutomatonZX27 says, "However, I don't know how fun would it be to escape from total blackness" | |||
Floyd | Room Floyd | This is your workspace. All your furniture and things are set up just Floyd | as you like them. The exit is to the south. Floyd | Floyd | The cube representing your workspace sits on a desk. Inside it, the Floyd | seven icons vibrate wildly. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Axyraandas says (to Floyd), "shake cube" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "z" | ||||
Floyd | Time passes. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace rattles violently. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "get workspace" | ||||
Floyd | You are already in your workspace. This is it. This is where you work. Floyd | Floyd | > | DavidW says, "Well, first you'd say 'create light'." | |||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "get metasemantics icon" | ||||
Floyd | (invoke the metasemantics icon) Floyd | You poke the metasemantics icon, but it is already active. Floyd | Floyd | The workspace vibrates irately. Floyd | Floyd | > | JJSonick says, "Open Cube Bug #17845 - Workspace crash destroys reality & traps user in Limbo - Priority: 2" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "invoke form" | ||||
Floyd | Your collection is complete; you feel like you've done enough for the Floyd | day's work. Floyd | Floyd | > | Doug says, "hm, I guess there isn't anything else to do." | |||
| Axyraandas goes home. | ||||
| Doug says (to Floyd), "amusing" | ||||
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognize. Floyd | Floyd | > | AutomatonZX27 says, "There's no amusing, I think" | |||
| AutomatonZX27 says (to Floyd), "s" | ||||
Floyd | You turn, and reach for the exit of your virtual environment. Floyd | Floyd | There is a wild crash behind you. You spin. The workspace cube lies in Floyd | splinters, sprayed across your desk, tinkling to the floor. Above it Floyd | are whirling seven -- forces -- that grow, and become more potent -- Floyd | Floyd | Then the walls are splintering, too. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Trapped Floyd | Nothing surrounds you. The virtual space is absolutely blank... but no Floyd | longer unbounded. You are unable to move, or to escape. Floyd | Floyd | You wonder if someone will come looking. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | *** To be continued *** Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, or QUIT? Floyd | > | Jacqueline smiles. | |||
| AutomatonZX27 asks, "So, you can't die in this game?" | ||||
| DavidW says, "Correct. As far as I know." | ||||
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